Combined ash receiver and coaster unit



Jan. 26, 1954 P. J. MES! ET AL COMBINED ASH RECEIVER AND COASTER UNIT Filed March 25, 1951 IN VEN TORSI Oga ek fizesL' Stanley T. J BY Plzdlz o Patented Jan. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,667,051 COMBINED ASH REICEIVER AND COASTER NIT Phillip J. Mesi and; Stan! 111., assignors to Toteb a corporation of. Illinois ey T. Ogorek, Chicago, rush, Inc., Chicago, 11].,

Application March 23, 1951, Serial No. 217,234

2 Claims.

more persons as an ash tray and for supporting glasses of beverage.

When at the card table, for example, the players desire that the table top be as uncluttered as possible. Inevitably, with two or more ash trays in use, and liquid refreshment within convenient reach, the area available for use in the cardv game is substantially diminished. Moreover, a hazard and a nuisance is presented by glasses placed at random, and in positions where even a glancing blow may topple the glass and contents, with. consequent breakage and soiling of carpets.

Individual coasters or trays for the glasses are in common use, but being light in weight are of little or no value in safeguarding the glasses against being toppled, since the coaster itself may readily slide on the table. In order to guard against this type of occurrence the player will place the glass away from his arms and hands toward the center of the table, thus interfering with the playing area.

Combined ash tray and coaster units are known, but have not included a feature whereby the component parts maybe collapsed so as to occupy the least possible space when stored during periods of non-use.

This invention has for its principal object a combined ash receiver and coaster unit comprising a tray for the ashes and de 'lressions for holding the lighted cigarettes or cigars, together with a pair of coasters hingedly mounted on the tray and adapted to be severally swung from a concealed position beneath the tray to an exposed position ready for use, the arrangement being such that one unit may accommodate two users.

Another object is to provide a unit as aforesaid in which the coasters are so constructed that when in concealed position the unit appears as a simple ash tray-not as a device having a dual utilitarian purpose and therefore nonesthetic.

A further object is to provide a unit as aforesaid which is so constructed that both coasters may be of identical configuration notwithstanding the mounting thereof at opposite sides of the ash tray Another object resides in the proportioning of the coasters and ash tray in relation to each other, such that the coasters are mutually abuttable, thus eliminating the need for full reliance 2 on separate stop members which, when. made of plastic, may become broken in use.

Still another object is to provide a unit as aforesaid which comprises only a few relatively movable parts and may be easily washed without dismemberment.

In the drawing which shows: one formin which the invention may be embodied:

Fig. 1 shows a top plan view of the unit withv the coasters in exposed position;

Fig. 2 shows a top plan view of the same with. the coasters in concealed position;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the: unit as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-55 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2'.

The invention unit comprises an ash receiver in the form of a tray or body" ID' of any suitable:

esthetic configuration, but shown exemplifica, tively as substantially polygonal and with curved faces. Inasmuch as a molded plastic composition lends itself well to an article as herein disclosed such material is preferred. Accordingly the body H3 will comprise a relatively thin walled structure as shown, including an upper, inwardly sloped outer wall portion l2 and a lower, vertical wall portion l-3. Portions I 4'l4 representing thickened zones of the wall portion ['2 are provided with recesses l5- for holding. lighted cigarettes and as will be understood The lower wa-l'lportion f3 is interrupted: in diagonally opposite regions to define a pair of openings |8I8 through which the coasters to be described may enter and emerge when swung from one position to the other.

A pair of enlarged knobs or embossments 2 I-2I is provided at diagonally opposite corners or the body in, and each is tapped to receive a bolt or screw 2222. The coasters 23-23 are in the form of swingable trays, having a substantially circular contour except at the regions denoted by numeral 24, whereat the same are delineated in such manner that when in concealed position the wall of the trays is in effect a continuation of the wall portion l3 of the body. Thus esthetic considerations are satisfied whenever the unit is functioning as a simple ash receiver, and as best depicted in Fig. 2.

The trays 2323 are of identical size and shape for ease in manufacture, and are each provided with a cylindrical recess 26-26, the fioor of which is grooved in concentrically circular manher or otherwise to define a plurality of lands 21 upon which the glass may rest without mois ture condensing thereon causing adherence of the glass to the tray. Since the provision of an interrupted floor as just described is common in coaster construction there will be no elaboration thereof.

Each of the trays 23-23 is provided with a rounded projection 3l-3l of the same diameter as the embossments 2l-2l so that when the trays are in concealed position the exterior of the ash receiver presents a flush appearance insofar as the parts 21 and 3| are concerned. To facilitate moving the trays from one position to the other each is provided with a handle 2-32 so arranged that when the tray is swung to closed position the handle will overhang the adjacent edge of its recess l8, thus to limit the inward movement thereof, and also to insure that the exterior flush relationship of the coplanar walls of the coaster and ash receiver is maintained.

Additionally the several parts are so dimensioned that when the trays 23-23 are in closed position they abut at the center, thus insuring that one tray acts as a stop for the other. Consequently full reliance need not be placed upon the knobs 32-32 for limiting inward movement thereby lessening the chance of breakage of the knobs or of the wall I3 abutted thereby.

Moreover it will be noted that the bottom face of each tray 23-23 is co-planar with the bottom edge of the wall sections 13-13. Thus the trays are, at all times, fully supported on the table top, thereby relieving stress on the embossments 21-21 and 3l-3l and consequent possible fracture thereof.

While we have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that we do not wish to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and we therefore contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A combined ash receiver and coaster unit comprising a substantially elliptical body having an ash-receiving-depression therein, and a pair of peripherally-spaced wall portions and openings extending downwardly from said body at the periphery thereof for spacing the floor of said depression above a supporting surface, a pair of diametrically-opposed coaster trays plvotally suspended from said body for swinging movement on individual vertical axes through said openings into and out of the space below said floor for concealment or for use respectively, said trays having a substantially circular periphery, the diameter whereof is substantially equal to half the major axis of the elliptical body, said vertical axes being disposed on a line passing through the center of the ellipse, the said wall portions and the exterior portion of each said tray when in concealed position being co-planar with the periphery of said body.

2. A combined ash receiver and coaster unit comprising a substantially elliptical body having an ashreceiving depression therein, and interrupted wall portions extending downwardly from said body at the periphery thereof for spacing the floor of said depression above a supporting surface, a pair of diametrically-opposed coaster trays pivotally suspended from said body for swinging movement on individual vertical axes into and out of the space below said floor for concealment or for use respectively, said trays having a substantially circular periphery, the diameter whereof is substantially equal to half the major axis of the elliptical body, and a portion of each tray being conformed to the adjacent interrupted wall for flush relationship therewith when the tray is in concealed position, and a handle for each tray for abutment with the wall for limiting closing movement thereof independently of the position of the other tray.

PHILLIP J. NIESI. STANLEY T. OGOREK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 114,551 Morgan May 2, 1939 171,624 Marble Dec. 28, 1875 229,467 Remhof June 29, 1880 424,028 Sautter Mar. 25, 1890 925,672 Winterknight June 22, 1909 1,179,973 Streit Apr. 18, 1916 1,952,776 Quinlan Mar. 27, 1934 2,329,660 Smith Sept. 14, 1943 2,352,684 Braddock July 4, 1944 2,563,694 Selten et a1. Aug. 7, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,853 Great Britain May 7, 1912 

